Daniel Kyri (born October 10, 1994) is an American actor, best known for portraying firefighter Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire.
Kyri was born on October 10, 1994[1] and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. He performed in plays as a child, crediting his mother for his love of the arts and enrolling him in the After School Matters program when he was 13.[2] In 2007, he appeared in the controversial CBS reality show Kid Nation, when he was 14-years-old going by the name D.K.[3] and winning a $20,000 "gold star" awarded by his peers.[4]
Kyri attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with a BA in Theater Performance.[3]
Kyri starred in the 2014 short film Perfect Day as Desmond, a composite character based on Derrion Albert.[5] He had roles in Chicago theater productions including Moby Dick, Macbeth and Ms. Blakk for President.[3] [2] [6] In 2015, he portrayed Logan in the film Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, and Brock in the TV mini-series Saranormal.[3] In 2017, he was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Equity Award for Principal Actor in a Play for Objects in the Mirror at the Goodman Theatre.[7]
In 2018, Kyri had the title role in the Gift Theatre production of Hamlet, giving what the Chicago Tribune called "a standout performance."[3] With Bea Cordelia, he co-wrote and starred in a web series called The T about the relationship between a white trans woman and a Black queer man in Chicago. It premiered with a screening at the Chicago Cultural Center.[8]
Kyri auditioned for Chicago Fire in 2018, with the role of Darren Ritter initially intended to last 2-3 episodes. He was a recurring guest appearing in most episodes over the next two years, before being promoted to series regular in August 2020.[9] He has a role as a YouTube paranormal investigator in the 2022 Shudder lo-fi horror film Night's End.[10] [11]
Kyri identifies as queer.[13] [14] He has said, "I can't say I had very many examples, of Black queer people growing up... I spent a lot of my youth lost at sea, reconciling with my sexuality."[7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Perfect Day | Desmond | Short film | |
| 2015 | Unexpected | David | Uncredited | |
| 2015 | Henry Gamble's Birthday Party | Logan | ||
| 2019 | Mantoru | Young Warrior | Short film | |
| 2020 | The Thing About Harry | Volunteer | Television film | |
| 2020 | Killing Eleanor | Will | ||
| 2022 | Night's End | Dark Corners |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Kid Nation | Himself | Reality show | |
| 2017 | Sarahnormal | Brock | ||
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Lane Tucker | Episode: "Devil in Disguise" | |
| The T | Carter | 6 episodes | ||
| 2018–present | Chicago Fire | Darren Ritter | ||
| 2019 | Chicago P.D. | Episode: "Infection, Part III" | ||
| 2020 | Acting for a Cause | Mika | Episode: "Hit the Wall" |